Installation of a steel sheet reinforcement on a door.

Abbey Gate were called out to Swindon in Wiltshire following a break in at an industrial unit. Another unit close by was concerned their fire exit on the building (below) was prone to attack and wanted a solution of how to make it stronger. Abbey Gate specialise in high security engineering and had the solution.

Firstly we made a visit to site to accurately measure the door (and frame). This is so the correct size steel sheet can be ordered and cut in our workshop. The edge of the sheet on the lock side is measured so it over laps the opening edge. This helps to protect the bolt and lock against attack. If possible we do the same to the top and bottom of the door.

With the sheet cut to size, we return to site to install. We remove all locking devices and measure the location of the first four holes. The sheet is then temporally attached to the door with regular screws to keep in in place.

Now we use a tied and tested hole drilling procedure to drill through the sheet and door without damaging the wood around the hole on the inside.

The sheet is then fixed to the door using bolts (that are pre cut in the van) all the way through the door. The bolts are dome head on the outside so they can’t be removed when the door is closed. Meanwhile the nut on the inside is accompanied with a washer to prevent it being dragged into the door.

The holding screws fitted temporally are removed and replaced with nuts and bolts using the same method. With the sheet fixed we drill into the sheet to allow the locks to be refitted or replaced.

Now the works are finished the door is substantially stronger while still functioning exactly how it did prior to our arrival. The customer was so happy further works at the site were given the go ahead.